THE LIFE & TIMES OF JIM IRVINE "DOING THE BEST THAT I CAN"

By Ed Pickford

He took his musicianship very seriously - guitar, fiddle, melodeon, harmonica and - yes - even spoons (very courageous, considering that the North East was the residence of the World Champion Spoons Player, the great Bert Draycott!). 

Jim Irvine never looked for the easy way to express himself musically. He loved fiddle playing, and sought out fiddle players to extend and improve his passion. 

Jim also had a great love for singer-songwriters such as Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. As I mentioned before, Jim Irvine was a leader ... so I suppose it was inevitable he would gather around him a band - and the Marsden Rattlers are well remembered. 

I have a 1968 recording of them (singing with Bob Davenport) which captures the drive and excitement of the music they made. 

Lastly in this brief piece of writing I will mention Jim Irvine the ‘ceilidh man’. People who have never been near a folk-song club know Jim for his leadership and the driving force of his personality playing and guiding them through a night of dancing.

 have known Jim Irvine for over 50 years, but over the last 12-14 years we have met each week to talk over old times and share music. 

We were sitting having a coffee one Friday in The Little Haven in South Shields, overlooking the mouth of the Tyne, when one of Jim’s many non-folk friends approached Jim and asked him how he was. 

Jim never moaned or complained about things - and, as he always did, he replied “I’m doing the best I can”. 

Well, they say it’s always best to keep your thoughts to yourself around a song-writer, so I wrote the song on the next page for Jim when he retired ...